1. Field of the Invention
This invention is concerned with disc brake assemblies for vehicle use and more particularly to those of the type including a brake disc, a bracket fixed to a fixed part of the vehicle in a position adjacent to the brake disc, a first and a second brake pad arranged on the opposite sides of the brake disc, a brake caliper having a first and a second limb formed to straddle the brake pads and provided in the first limb with pressure means for exerting pressure on the back of the first brake pad, and a first and a second slide pin provided on the bracket to connect the brake caliper therewith while allowing the brake caliper to slide in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the brake disc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Previously known in the art is a disc brake assembly of the type concerned which includes a U-shaped bracket having a pair of front and rear support arms adapted to support first and second brake pads at the front and rear ends thereof and a brake caliper connected to the top ends of the two support arms, respectively, by means of a first and a second slide pin. With such disc brake assembly, however, if one of the two support arms of the bracket deflects in a direction away from the other support arm as may occur under brake torque, a substantial lateral pressure must act on both the first and second slide pins as the distance between the axes thereof is changed. This impairs the slidability of the brake caliper and causes undesirable phenomena including unilateral wear and creaking of the brakel pads. In practice, therefore, the bracket is formed thick and rigid enough to withstand the brake torque. Such bracket must have an undesirably large weight and necessarily make the whole brake assembly unduly large in size with the U formation of the bracket designed to embrace the brake pads around the front and rear thereof.